After being optioned to Triple-A Worcester, David Hamilton opened up about his demotion from the Boston Red Sox ahead of his first game back with the WooSox.
WORCESTER — David Hamilton found himself batting leadoff and playing shortstop Friday for the WooSox after being optioned from the Boston Red Sox on July 12.
For the speedy infielder, the demotion to Triple A was admittedly a bit difficult — but Hamilton is choosing to hit the reset button and tackle his change of scenery with a positive attitude.
“It kind of really wasn’t a shocker, I wasn’t playing like I wanted to,” said Hamilton prior to Worcester’s game against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre at Polar Park. “So, (Red Sox brass) just said the defense looks good, get to swinging it a little bit better and hopefully be back soon.”
Hamilton, 27, played in 62 games for the Red Sox this season, batting .179 with three doubles and three home runs. The left-handed hitter is tied for the team lead, though, with 15 stolen bases.
Originally selected by the Milwaukee Brewers in the eighth round of the 2019 First-Year Player Draft, Hamilton was one of three players Boston received from Milwaukee in a 2021 trade for outfielder Hunter Renfroe.
In 2022, Hamilton swiped 70 bases to lead all of Double A and set a new Portland Sea Dogs record in a season. He played in 103 games for the WooSox in 2023, batting .247 with 17 HR, 54 RBI and 57 stolen bases — the latter category led Triple-A baseball and also established a new Boston Red Sox Triple-A record for stolen bases in a season.
Last season, Hamilton played 98 games for Boston (and just five for Worcester). With the Red Sox, Hamilton hit .248 with 8 HR, 28 RBI and 33 stolen bases.
This year, however, Hamilton found himself in more of a reserve role with Boston. And with Alex Bregman recently returning from the injured list, the big-league club opted to keep Marcelo Mayer in Boston in favor of Hamilton.
“It was difficult. But you know, when you’re up there, you got to be ready to do your job,” said Hamilton before his first game this season with Worcester. “And I didn’t really do that to the best of my potential, but I don’t know, I'm excited to be back.
“I mean, it sucks, but at the same time, like I said, I feel like I knew it was coming, (I) wasn’t playing like I wanted to,” Hamilton added. “So, I just got to take it how it is, I’m not there right now, I’m in Worcester. So, just try and be the best I can here and hopefully day by day get a little bit better and get called back up.”
Hamilton, who received some encouragement from former Red Sox outfielder and former Red Sox single-season stolen-base leader Tommy Harper pregame, said he’s focused on hitting more line drives, continuing to steal bases and playing good defense while with Triple-A Worcester.
He’s hitting the reset button with the WooSox.
“Trying to get back to the big leagues,” Hamilton said. “That's it. Play my game and good things will happen.”
—Contact Tommy Cassell at [email protected]. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @tommycassell44.
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: David Hamilton discusses his option to Triple-A Worcester from Red Sox
Category: Baseball
